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The Way, the Truth and the Life

What is the way? How can we know the truth? Who is the giver of life? Jesus says he is the way, the truth and the life. More than that, he said that the only way to God the Father is through him. One of the most famous verses in the whole Bible is John 14:6, which says, “Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.””

Here and elsewhere, Jesus makes an exclusive claim—a claim that no other founder of any of the world’s major religions has made. Jesus claims not only to be a messenger sent by God, but he claims to be God himself: the Son of God in the flesh. Jesus said that no one can come to the Father, can please the Father or can have a relationship with the Father unless they go through him. He is the only way to God. There is no other way.

The Way

Being a Pastor of a church, I have had many people ask me what God is like. The answer is mysterious if we understand God to be a distant force or energy that cannot be reached or known. However, he is not a force, but is a person (by person I don’t mean a semi-human-Zeus-like figure), and is Spirit. It is quite true that we cannot reach God by ourselves – that in one sense he is very distant from us. However, he is not removed from us. Quite the opposite. God has made himself known to us through his word, and through Jesus Christ. God has spoken to us, and Jesus the Son of God entered into human history to reveal the Godhead (Father, Son and Spirit) to the world. Therefore, to know what God is like, we only need to look to Jesus. God is not a mysterious entity, but rather, a revealed reality. A reality that can be spoken to, enjoyed and experienced through having a relationship with him.

So, Jesus being the second person of the triune God, was sent to achieve the unachievable: to bring us back to God through himself. He came to provide the only way to God by living a perfect life and receiving the punishment we deserve for our sinful rebellion against God. He died so that our sins would die with him if we believe by faith in his saving work. Jesus is the only way.

The Truth

There cannot be multiple truths for the origin and existence of the universe or anything else for that matter. My car is black. It’s not red. No one (who isn’t colourblind) can claim that my car is red. To say that my car is red is a false statement and is simply untrue. My car can only be one colour at one time. You can mix colours to create another colour, or have stripes which would make my car embarrassingly multi-coloured. But black is black, red is red, yellow is yellow. My car is black and that is a fact.

Likewise, my shoes are my shoes, my house is my house, my arm is an arm and is not a leg. Everything is something and have been made to achieve the purpose for which it was made. This principle is true of the universe. There can only be one truth for how the universe came to be. Jesus claims not only to know the truth, but also to be the truth. He is the truth: the purpose of everything. The universe was made by God and for God. If anything goes against God, then it is not fulfilling its purpose. True joy and satisfaction can only be found when we fulfil the purpose for which we were made: to glorify God.

The Life

It’s no lie to say that everyone dies. The Bible teaches that death is the result of sin. As humans rebelled against the order and purpose of God for creation, the world no longer functions the way God intended. The outcome of this is death. Everything must come to an end. This is the judgement of God on humanity. Each person is going to be judged and punished for their actions, just like the state might punish a criminal for a despicable crime. However, God being a God of love and grace has provided a way for life – eternal life. The way to life is through Jesus. By recognising our own sinfulness, we need to be convicted of our sin and confess them to the Lord through repentance (turning away from our sin and turning to God). Acts 16: 31 says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved”.

Many people loathe the thought of living forever. So do I, if it means living in the same world as we do now – full of pain, hunger, thirst, stress, anxiety and work. But the eternal life God provides is an eternal life of heavenly rejoicing. There will be no more pain, mourning, hunger, poverty or social injustice. God will make all things new. There will be no burden of guilt and shame because Christ has removed our sins and the judgement of it from us.

What do you make of Jesus’ claim? If he is lying, it is the most despicable, disgraceful and shameful lie anyone could ever make. But if he is telling the truth, which he is, then we must pay special attention to him, repent of our sins, and believe upon him for forgiveness and eternal life. When he said to each of his disciples, “follow me”, he was not asking them to embark on a trip, he was calling them to devote their whole lives to following him because it is through Jesus alone we receive the revelation for the meaning of life. Jesus Christ is our salvation.